JAPAN: Are Japanese workers beginning to ease...

JAPAN: Are Japanese workers beginning to ease up? Annual working hours for the average Japanese worker in 1990 declined for the third consecutive year, and wages rose by the highest rate in nine years, the Labor Ministry announced. The average Japanese worked 2,044 hours, including 185 hours of overtime, in the fiscal year ended March 31, down 32 hours from the previous year, the ministry said in a preliminary report. It said average annual income, including twice-a-year bonuses, overtime and housing and other allowances, totaled $32,400, up 4.6% from 1989. It was the largest rate of increase since 5.1% in 1981.